


Keeping A Strong Relationship

by flickawhip



Category: BBC Proms RPF, Maestro (TV) RPF, Strictly Come Dancing RPF
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-04
Updated: 2016-01-04
Packaged: 2018-05-11 18:15:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 2,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5636971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flickawhip/pseuds/flickawhip
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>From A Prompt. </p><p>Not Real.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Communicate: Talk About Things, The Good And The Bad.

They talk, daily almost, about the things that bother them, the things that make them happy. It's not usually done and yet, John can never help himself. He worries when Katie is silent and since she cannot even talk without worrying, he tells her the truth about how he feels. She knows she has to look after him and he will look after her in return. They balance one another, well and often. Neither of them can help loving that they can be so honest. Her heart leaps every time he speaks about how happy he is, how much he loves her, how he really, truly feels about her. The two of them are honest with one another even when it's something that could be frustrating for them both. Both of them fight so hard to keep the relationship strong that it's nice when things are going well. When things aren't going well the two have to fight a little harder, but they know they can handle just about anything together. The two of them have always been a pair and now they balance perfectly. John always seems to know how to handle the things that Katie can't and then Katie can always see a way through the things that seem to trouble John when he cannot find the answer. Neither of them worries any longer, they share everything, even the smallest problem, they have always done so and they know that they can be honest with one another without causing too many problems.


	2. Build Trusts. Be Honest. Be Faithful.

Trust has always been a fragile thing for Katie and yet, even as she looks at John she knows she trusts him entirely. John has always trusted her completely. It has taken them a little time to talk, a little time to learn to trust one another at the beginning and yet now, almost 17 years in, neither of them needs to say anything. They have a trust that is unbroken. They are gentle with one another, sensing when things are problematic and yet they talk it through with care. John never pushes when Katie doesn't want to talk and she does him the same honor. Trust is fragile, but they have a trust that has remained unbroken through many storms, start-up fees, challenging economical times, job changes, life that causes chaos in ways she could never understand when she was younger, now though she takes great pleasure in the fact that she is trusted. She has always been forcefully trusting with John and John has done much the same. They are faithful to one another, to the point that John knows, even when rumors happen before, during and after the trials of Strictly and Katie becoming close to Anton, that Katie would never hurt him in that way, she has always been so entirely honest and she always will be. She loves him, John, and him alone. He is hers and she is his. Anton may be a friend but they stand as one in matters of romance and John can't help but be amused at how fiercely both Anton and Katie respond. Anton refuses to touch the idea, choosing instead to let John know he is perfectly happy with his own romance and has no need to wreck John's. Katie responds in the same way she always has, with stunned silence. She has been outspoken in the press and yet when it comes to being at home together, she finds it very hard to answer him. He knows she can't speak much about it and she smiles softly when he kisses her, telling her with that one kiss that he believes her entirely.


	3. Be There For One Another. Make Time For One Another.

Time is rare when both Katie and John are free but they always find time, even if it's a phone-call or a text, to talk to one another. They refuse to even once look at what the papers have to say. Rumors are blowing over and Katie seems happier when she ignores the papers. John chooses to see her as his wife first of all. She chooses to look at him as her world. Even when nothing else is making sense, John always has. John seems to know exactly how to handle when she needs someone. They need one another. John smiles softly as he greets her every time, his voice gentle. Katie can't help but smile back. The two make sense of life, together. The children have become a part of their world but the two of them talk regularly whilst he cooks, she cleans, they work. Neither of them wants anything more than one another. Neither of them needs anything more. John has always been the one to know when Katie needs him and he moves now, on instinct, to kiss her softly, pulling her closer. Katie leans against him now, shaking slightly even as he smiles at her. His touch is gentle even as he moves to stroke her cheek, giving her peace for just long enough that she can rest, sleep, tomorrow they will start all over again.


	4. Leave The Past To The Past, Which Includes Exes.

Neither of them knows how to deal when the past begins to chase her. John chooses to chase the past away the best way he can, by reminding her how much she loves him and he loves her. The marks of the past cover her and yet, all he sees is her. His wife, his lover, his world. The two stand in silence, John wrapped so tightly around her that she can't help but lean into him, her arms tight around his waist. Slowly the past issues fall away, over days. She is always safer here, with him, held by him. Loved by him. He loves her, she's never once doubted it. She never once doubts him. He has never lied to her. Not about what has always mattered most. Him, with her. He always tells her honestly how he feels and now, as they face the future the past is finally pushed into the past. It's easier for John to chase away the past, he always seems to know how to fix her past, chase it. She loves him, she always has. Now, finally, she chooses to believe that he is right about leaving the past behind, talk about it, then let it go. He has done so with her, past problems are now gone and now she can't help but smile as she looks at him. He has, finally, pulled her out of the past, fully. Accepting it, but never once letting it stop him loving who she is now.


	5. Know That Having Arguments Is Normal.

They yell, scream, fight and John can't help but laugh when Katie's yelling finally falters. She looks startled but then, he has always loved her temper and the fact that, when pushed too damn far, she will yell and fight and scream. She has long since accepted that they can't always agree, but the yelling and arguments are always rewarded with tenderness once their tempers have settled. Katie herself soon begins to laugh, they have always been able to argue and never once refuse themselves the right to sulk. It takes them very little time to forgive once they have settled. Katie always apologizes gently, with soft words and careful honesty. John, however, always does his best not to back away from the challenge, he always accepts when he is wrong but he does his best to never once look nervous. They apologize, they argue and the cycle goes on. Katie always laughs when they settle back into a happy cycle, the two of them get on very well. Laughter always comes easily, but then, so does the simple apology they both often use. 'I was angry, it was unfair, but I told the truth'. It almost becomes a mantra at first, but then the arguments drop away, they settle and they grow used to arguing and apologizing to each other.


	6. Know That You Won't Always Be Happy.

They have always known how to argue and how to have problems but sort them. Happiness, when it comes, is welcomed but then sadness is always welcomed with the same sweet style, they handle it as one. Things happen, problems arise, pasts come clearer and then settle back. They take every small trouble into hand, it may not always be happiness, but they are always together as one. Katie never flinches when the sadness rolls over her, then when she needs to cry. John has grown used to comforting her, but then she always comforts him when the problems take control of him. He rarely cries, but he suffers with her. The two of them can't help but want to support each other. Crying alone is never good and so Katie always seeks him out, needing him. Any troubles that come to him are handled with care by her. The two are careful. She handles him with care when he is miserable, he handles her sweetly when she needs to cry. Neither of them react to trouble without worries, but then the worries are always shared. Together. Never once letting go of each other. Happiness is always welcomed when it comes back to them. They handle both happiness and sadness.


	7. Don't Expect Change. Appreciate The Flaws.

Changes never really come to them. They change only slightly, changing just enough to balance one another but any and all changes are welcomed but unexpected. The problems that come from people changing, well, forcing themselves to change, are not ones that either John or Katie want to deal with. Neither of them expects the other to change, they try it, if it doesn't work, they go back as they were. Neither of them worries, takes offense or minds too much. Flaws, and they both have them, they have both acknowledged them, John knows when he is angry, when he is doing something wrong but then he always accepts when he is wrong. His flaws are strongly shown at times but, when they do, they simply accept them and smile. Katie knows when she is finding her own issues, she knows when her flaws are showing, she doesn't flinch away, accepts them and smiles, admits them. Finally, finally she is strong enough to handle them. John has accepted her flaws completely as she accepts him and his. They work as one to chase any and all problems away. John has accepted her flaws so completely that, when she does feel the need to talk about them, he accepts them again, moves to kiss her softly. She knows that his smile is sweet, that he will accept it time and again, any time she needs to talk it through, he will do it.


	8. Appreciate Each Other. Become Best Friends.

The two have talked, quietly, for a long time. John has come to appreciate all that Katie is and has become, every small challenge and change is welcomed, Katie has done the same for John. Time and again. Marriage, children, has only made them appreciate one another all over again. Katie has come to see how truly gentle and kind John is, he always has been with her and now he has been the same with their children, with friends and family. John has come to see how incredibly strong Katie is, how willing she is to take on any and all challenges. The two of them are afraid of very little, they trust one another and they trust that, with time and care, they can handle any and all issues that may come their way. They will do all they can to make life easy for each other. They will do their best to make things balance, together. They have become more than just family, they are friends, the very best of friends and John has seemed to settle more and more into the role of husband, father, friend and lover. Katie, it seems, has settled into her role as a mother with ease, the relationship between Katie and John has come together all the more, they are friends, best friends, and lovers. It was all they could do to keep together and yet, they know they want this relationship, this marriage, to last and so they will do all they can to take care of one another, and of their children.


	9. Lastly, Love Each Other Unconditionally.

Katie can't help but smile as she reads back the notes she has made over the years. Happiness had come so easily, they have fought for it but they are a team, they argue, yet, they can't help but love one another. Problems and marriage come as one and so they take all they can, as they can, the two will never once look away from one another. They are fixed on being together. They will make it work. As one. Together. Always. No matter what may happen. The marriage vows had said that they would love each other unconditionally, and, as Katie reads back her notes, she is smiling. She has loved him, always, as much as is always possible. The two of them had loved one another almost instantly, John adores her, she knows that much, and, if she is totally honest, which she always is when it comes to matters of love, she adores him. He has always been there, always. Unconditional love comes easily, for both of them. John loves her for who she is, who she was, who she will always be. She does the same for him. She loves him, all of him, the troubled man, the happy man, the man she loves. No matter what happens now, they have one another, and they have their children. They have all that they have ever wanted.


End file.
